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Are Flibanserin's Problems a Sign That Female Sexuality Can't Be 'Fixed'?

Content

Author

Steph Auteri

Published date

Mar 04, 2015

Ever since the commercial success of Viagra, pharmaceutical companies have been scrambling to develop a version that works for women. After all, complaints about low libido, low arousal levels, painful sex, anorgasmia, and more are legion.

The drug that's come closest thus far is flibanserin, but it continues to be denied approval from the FDA. There are those who insist that this is a sign of double standard, proof that women's sexual health is not considered as important as men's. A whole other camp, however, insists that the FDA is right in refusing to put their stamp of approval on a drug that doesn't seem to work all that well, and which has many troubling side effects. Many in this latter camp are unsurprised about flibanserin's continued failure. They say that women's sexual functioning is a complex thing, and that there is no eager fix. They say that perhaps we should stop looking at it as something that needs to be "fixed" at all.